Learn how social entrepreneurship uses the power of business to create positive change in the world with examples from American social enterprises.
By Alexander Frakking | Innovation Advisor
January, 20, 2023
ocial entrepreneurship is a beautiful concept that combines the passion and drive of entrepreneurship with the goal of creating positive social and environmental impact.
Social enterprise is a business model that uses the principles of entrepreneurship to create an economically viable solution to a social or environmental problem. It uses the power of business to create positive change in the world. This can take many forms, from creating a new business to providing resources and support for existing organizations.
Social entrepreneurs identify resources where people only see problems. They view the villagers as the solution, not the passive beneficiary. They begin with the assumption of competence and unleash resources in the communities they’re serving.
David Bornstein, Author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas
A win-win business model.
A social enterprise has typical business objectives such as making revenue, paying employees, and creating shareholder value, and combines that with meaningful social goals, such as reducing poverty, protecting the environment, and improving access to healthcare.
A social enterprise doesn’t need to be nonprofit, although it could be. A nonprofit still has all the same business objectives as a for-profit company, except it doesn’t have shareholders to receive excess profit.